SPYL slams alleged racist engineer

The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) says they have investigated claims that a white engineer refused to supervise a black trainee, because of her skin colour and found the accusations to be true.

This follows recent media reports that Alwyn Strauss, a white engineer, allegedly refused to supervise Ankita Ndakukamo, a young black engineer, to help her achieve her next level as a registered geo-technical engineer.

SPYL spokesperson Neville Itope said the youth wing would not allow any young professional to be treated in such a manner in a democratic country.

“We call upon Strauss to publicly apologise to Ndakukamo for his racist remarks he uttered in the telephonic conversation,” Itope stressed.

“In addition to that, we urge the Engineering Council of Namibia to investigate this issue and to ensure that Ndakukamo is given the opportunity to be supervised, so that she can be registered.

“The government requires private sector contribution to develop this country and it is clear that Strauss does not want to work with the government. It is, therefore, our call to government not to provide any future work to Strauss’ company. He can as well emigrate to countries where there are only white people.”

According to Itope, SPYL has learned that there is an ongoing pattern of discrimination against black engineers that want to be registered, because apparently white professionals dominate that industry.

“We are aware of a group of young people who have decided to address the issues of Ndakukamo with different institutions and we strongly support their efforts and call upon all young people from different backgrounds… to confront racism and deal with racial elements in our society.”

On Thursday, Affirmative Repositioning activist Job Amupanda wrote a letter to Engineering Council of Namibia president Markus von Jeney to find out about the council’s stance on Strauss’ views. Amupanda also wanted to know if any action would be taken against Strauss. He said they planned to engage Strauss directly too on the matter.

It is not yet clear whether the Engineering Council has responded to the request.